Vegetable crate press



Jan. 1, 1935. u, J. BOEHNKE' 1,985,879

VEGETABLE CRATE PRESS Filed March 3, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 1, 1935.

u. J. BOEHNKE v VEGETABLE CRATE PRESS Filed March 5, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 1, 1935. u; J. BQOEHNKE 1,985,879

VEGETABLE CRATE PRES S Filed March 3, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I" /6 W w W 11.3"

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1' 3 49'? 1 1 l .l V I 5 5 in A54 I [51. gwuc/wbo'n 73 EcZBoefiniYe This invention=-rela,te s,-v resses .andpartiicu-r larlyto presses fonuse in; -f urcing;;the' cover :on to a crate Iil1ed; with ve etables and, holding "the: cover ,place while itjis being nailedl 5 5: l

't epack neo. r sembles inzcretes; it .=eus-" tomaryto use difier nteizesof crates-:varyin'gfin height and widthand; 1 1s customary qin" order, t or fi m q wn c e ez Fofi full" w i ht. to; v rfi the. crate-em hett e :bo om of thecra e may bulge downwardat its middleendthetop. t re erb lgerupwetdat mid l k 1 h n3 319b eCU- his. mvent n Pm-F: 'r w crate-press vie-.0 wh c W 1 Peri -t wnwar ul in c 1. bottom v drt e. pw r vzu sin w he; on on. i ever w il. t e: the press an having its cover nailed on. Y 0I f: 1,l b-l q' qv a s u tureq f-fi is nd t e .Yme; 1 11 e o u n r r he ra end-vmean s er 1 portinga ve ebcveth eteen in oyide i; p o e -me s rem v nec-t on o x at i ehiqhsmeans; t fa t mi al- QQWQWQI -AQ QW cured, and, as the cover nearsi the movement of -s;the;; ccy,er is s loyvedi-u ve g 'w r h hecqt 1y increased thereb the time when it is -A u th r b ect the end" rollers ofl above the e1 of ;the

m it the battens oflth at the m moresalable E A furtherobject-i characterlin [Whig isrraisedlsufliciehtl; t I h the ready sliding of is "crate o V return-of'the endtrollers ma the middleijrbllers, of i the "be presserThas ben rais' V k I movement'of the crate on to" heb'ed 'ofl' th b thei bve cirr n ertic ally'withhfer ce to:,th' -strokenottheniachinejandanoth I to. provide means-en the we: 1 supporting nie' 'be'r! whereby e th ar ow Wide We em se i wme me si i is e ed we this cratelguide being furtl e r s cdnstructedf as to center the crateingposition theroljl er's or} the bed and with-relationto; the cover supporting I; "1-" f; ,7 S ill n t t tor mvi e en ad us b e. irate:qpyenz heltwhichi isadJy et h e-.,;9 as

rollersgbeing"in'section; w: 1 v

; theretoare the -guideg-rodsj;or: shafts 19;which .-may be circular in cross section or square int-cross; se i nas' d sir d,'-I;%Slidab1y mount-ed; upon" thes uides 19 are-sleeves; ,0'rii xtend n i. f1t0m1thes 1 to nbei usedr-for eith'erlarg'e: or small-covers and to :provide nail spreader brackets: so i-that the press may be usedzeither tor a right or=left handv ed nailernor-ior twornailers'atone press". a I

Other objects will .:appear=in th following-description;vi: i' My invention is illustrated inthe accompany; ing; drawings, wherein:: 3' 1, 111': Figure '1' ,is afront elevationof' acratepress constructedin accordancewith:inyinvention, the

of t Figure 1, the "pres sr-beingiopened'; 1- cf 11' Figure 3 is a fragmentary section bh'the 'IineQ 3',:3=:o frFig1- 1re 4'; 1 Figure; 4 is atohipl porting table, theiyertical memb beingfishown inrsecti'o'ma 2' :1 Fig; 5 5 is .sa"; fragmentary? pre'sse r-plate; and fthefsupportixig: members' therei-f n 'Figure12 6' is a vertical-section roni thei 'iine vievru oi the cratewsubf' ersici th'e name" for showing.- the adjustable v guide. :iii'elevationy w r,

? in place; I within the. a guide, the 1. pressure beingindicated"byi'dotianddg m plate t irons extendingsfrom' front-to rear dfthenma chine-and" constituting. baseTs'kids, .thefa'ngle irons being-.iprovidedwith'runners at their forwardends.

upwardly".turn'ed" 30' angle irons are the" two;verticallyfiisposed: uprights :12 which extend.

- the'fulL-height' oi theunachinefandriopposite to:

i these uprightse12 'andwat .the frontier the angle," irons; 1'0 are: thezangledroh uprights 13 which: 3 support, theitablejrame or bed, the; uprights 12: andid3iebeing-tconnected by the longitudinally; extendingframe; beams 14- at their ,;upper ends. Qarriedmp'onthese irameheams l-i are 1 and .re'an channelirons 15i and 3162";

thee front; I

j :='-Ihe i'uprights j1'2 arei1connected and :tied to; gether by the upper spreaderlfl and by the lower spreader 518;;these .{spreaders being oflangle iron; Extending between-these Spreaders andattachedur mesl veeifl my: b d u ted we w th trefexsm gte-ih izjh,

will r row covers-will be'dispose'cliri properiposltion upon t -fix: 1 f1: 1:. 1.1T- To each side of 'the ma n "frame uprights IZ, nail stripper brackets "74 are attached, these brackets being adapted to carry nail strippers orsorters; These nail strippers may be carried uponeither or both ofthese'brackets 74 so' that end an oil ring '75 which provides a container into which oil may beplaced for oiling the guide shafts'lQ, thus giving the sleeves an easy action. These guide shafts '19 provide true and accurate guides for the sleeves 20 which carry the cover presserw Preferably the front ends of the beams ll'are turned upwardso as to make it easier to skid the press about-on: the floor of a shop:

a The general operation of "thismechanism will be obvious from what has gone before. With the treadle-lever 39 in a raised positionv and all of the rollers4=7 and 48 disposed in a horizontal plane, a crate is placed on the rollers androlled to aposition where the ends ofthecrate are dis-' posed betwe'en the inner shoulders of the stop 68 (or' 69), the stop guidex66 limiting the. rear-c ward movement of thecrateax With the crate in this position, the treadle 39 is then depressed and. this acts through? the bell crank lever 34 to depress the screw-24,' the..sleeve 23, the angle irons 22, .thel'sleevesr20 and. the:.cover' presser 61. Of course, a cover-has previously been placed in position between the members 631 and ,64; With the cratein this position; the lever" 39,, is depressed, bringing the cover down upon the mate and forcing the'cover into a curvedyshape over the crate, the rollersi48 simultaneouslymoving upward so that. the bottom of thecr'ate is also bulged but in anopposite direction to the cover, The cover is then nailed to-the crate and when: lever 39 is raised toits open-c position,'i t leaves the cover onthe cratewith .a rounded bulge upward while the bottom of the crate is bulged downward, thus giving a very full. appearance to the crate and making such filled crate more salable. When the lever 39- is released-and re-i turns to its raised position, it, of course,'permits the rollers .48 to descend to the same level as the rollers 47, thus making the box table level for theremoval of the covercrate and for theLreception of the next crate to be covered. The crate.

guide 66 is quicklyadjustable for'wide or narrow crates while the stops on the ends of ,the'crate guide function tocenter the crate properly upon the table and hold'it in this centered position.

Attention is called to the action of the eccentric,

or bell crank lever34'. By the use of thislever,

an initially fast downward movementgof the cover presserfil'is secured andastheqcoveris,

depressed; the motion of the cover is slower and the leverage of the lever 34 increased sothat the greatest rapidityis secured upon the initial movement of the cover? presser, and theereatest leverage is secured: atsrthe, time whenthe, cover;

is beingf0r0'ed downionl'to the crate into position for nailing.

Furthermore, by the use of this bell crank 34 In the dotted line posi-- making a larger opening between the presser 61 and the roller table, allowing larger'and higher vegetable packs to be placed into the pre'ssand and: theiiconne'ctingxlinks, the jcover' presserl is shifted toa relativelyrhi'gh point'or relatively great distance.from theibedjor table, thereby the cover forced intoplace. 'Thecover presser 61 1s adjustable up or down by the adjustment f screw 24*fwith the nuts 25 -so' that any height of crate may be pressed iinthis machine; adjustment' may be very quickly made so as to suitth'machine'todifferent'sized crates. While I have illustrated certain details of "construction and arrangementsoffiparts,fit will be understood that many minor changes might be made in thedetails without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in theappended claims. 1

-Iclaim:-'-. a i

. 1. In a I crate press, .,a frame, a" crate supporting table carried thereby, the frame having uprights extending above the crate supporting This table a verticarguidemounted upon the frame,

an-element 'slidably mounted upon said guide,

a pressingmeinber carried by said sliding elementand extending over the pressing table,.a vertically movable member. mounted upon the frame, manually. operable means for reciprocatin'g said member vertically, a screw carried by said memberfa sleeve attached to' the guide and through whichthe screW}passes, and nutsengaging said-screw on either end-of the sleeve whereby the sleeve may bea'djusted vertically upon the screw andwith relation to themanually operable means to thus adju'stthe initial height thipr'essing ber with reference to the In crate'pressr'a' m aerate supporting table'mountedon the frame, the name having vertical members extending above the table,

a pair of guides mounted upon the'upwardly extending portion of'the'table, sleeves mounted upon said guides for vertical reciprocation, arms I extending outwardly from thesleeves at the upper ends thereof, a cover pressing element carried by said arms above thetable, transversely extendingl angle irons carried by the sleeves, a

vmedially disposed sleeve mounted between saida'ngle irons; a; cross' head disposed between the guides, a manually depressible treadle operatively connected to the cross head, springs urg ing the cross head upward, a screw mounted on the cross head and extending :upward therefrom parallel to the guides, the screw passing through said se'c'ond-named sleeve, and nuts engaging the transverse ironsand engaging against the upper and'lower ends of said last named sleeves to thus permit the first and-second named sleeves to'beunitarily adjusted vertically with reference Q 7 to the cross head. V

3. -In ac'rate press, a frame, a crate supporting table, a pressing element mounted on the I frame for vertical reciprocation, and manually con trolled means for vertically. reciprocating the pressing element toward or from thetable, the pressing element being transversely bowed andhaving nailing slots, the outer margin of the pressing element having 'a downwardly depending cover engaging member, the innerportion of the pressing element having *a downwardly extending cover engaging xelement, the last named element being adjustable toward orfrom the first named element, and resilient means for I engaging a cover with the under side of the pressing element.

4;-Ina crate press, a; crate "supporting table having end rollers andintermediate rollers, all of the rollers, being disposed normally in a horizontal plane, a cover supporting pressing element mounted above the crate supporting table for movement toward the crate supporting table, means for depressing the pressing element, and means acting upon the depression ofthe' pressing element to raise the. end rollers to a level above the. intermediate rollers;

'5. In a cratepress, a frame, a crate supporting table carried thereby, a, pressing element mounted on the frame for. vertical reciprocation, the pressing element being bowed transfor vertically reciprocating the pressing elementv and includinga treadle lever normally urged upward, a cratesupporting table disposed below thepressing element and having end rollersand medial rollers, allof said rollers being-disposed initially in a horizontal plane, levers carrying the end rollers,,both of said levers being operatively connected "to a vertically movable element disposed inthe path of. movement .of the treadle,

lever when the latter is depressed whereby as the treadle lever isydepressed, the lateral rollers are raised above the medial rollers.

ing pressing element mounted on the frame for vertical reciprocation, manuallyvoperable means for vertically reciprocating the pressing element and including a treadle lever pivoted at oneend, the treadle lever being urged to a raised position, a crate. supporting table disposed beneath, the pressing elementand including opposed parallel supporting irons, the ends of said irons having vertically'movable sections, end rollers carried by the vertically movable sections of the iron, intermediate rollers carried by the fixed sections of the irons, and means for raising the endsections of the irons and said end rollers including levers carrying said rollers and pivoted intermediate their ends, a vertically depressiblemember to;

porting irons, theends of said irons'having vertically movable sections, endrollers carried by the vertically movable sections of theiron, interme diate rollers'carriedby the fixed sections of the irons, and means for raising the end sections of the irons 'andsaidend-rollers including levers carrying said rollers and pivoted intermediate their ends,.a vertically depressible member to which the-inner ends of said levers are both connected, the depressible member being disposed in the path ofmovement of andoperatively engaged by the treadle when the latter is depressed, the vertically depressible element including a vertical rod, and a tubular guide forv the rod, the tubular guide being mounted on the frame for oscillation at right angles to the plane of movement of the roller carrying levers.

9. In a crate'press, a supporting'frame, a crate supporting table, a cover supporting pressing element mounted on the frame for vertical reciprocation, means for vertically reciprocating the press element towardor from the table, a crate guide extending across the frame above the table, and arms pivoted to the frame and carrying the crate guide, said arms being movable into a position at right angles to the frame and extending over'the table or into a vertical position with the crate guide disposed closely adjacent the frame.

10. In a crate press, a supporting frame, a crate supportingv table, a cover supporting pressing element mounted on the frame for vertical reciprocation, means 'for. vertically reciprocating the press element toward or from the table, a crate guide extending across the frame above the table, and arms pivoted to theframe and carrying the crate guide, said arms being movable into .a position at right angles to the frame and extending over the table or into a vertical position with the crate guide disposed closely adjacent the frame, said crate guide having a length greater than the table, and stops mounted upon the crate guide and operative in eitherposition of the crate guide, said stops projecting outward from the crate i L guide to provide means for centering a crate upon. '7. In a crate press, a frame, a cover support- 7 the table.

11. In. a crate press, a supporting frame, a crate supporting table, a reciprocatable pressing element mounted upon the table and a cover supporting shelf carried upon the upper end of the frame and extending rearwardly and then, upwardly, and connected angular elements pivotally mounted upon the rearwardly extending portion of the shelf, the pivoted portion of the elements having a' length equal to the rearwardly extending portion of the shelf and being pivoted to the shelf inwardly of the upwardly extending portion whereby in one position the members constitute stops limiting the depth of the cover supporting shelfand, in another position, being disposed within the lines of the cover supporting shelf.

12. In a crate press, a frame, a crate supporting table carried thereby, the frame having uprights extending above the crate supporting table, an element mounted upon said frame for vertical sliding movement, a pressing member. carried by said element and extending over the pressing table, a vertically movable'member mounted upon the frame, means for reciprocating said member vertically, and means connecting the slidingelement to said member and including arelatively long screw operatively connected to the member and extendingup therefrom, and a sleeve connected to the sliding element and through which said screw passes, the sleeve being vertically adjustable upon the screw and adjustably engaged therewith to thus adjust the initialheight of the pressing member with reference to the table.

1 ULRICH J BOEHNKE. 

